


Claws of Blackened Memories

by ElisaPhoenix



Series: Mama Bear AntLord [30]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, M/M, Night Terrors, Other, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:08:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28118961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElisaPhoenix/pseuds/ElisaPhoenix
Summary: Time may have passed, but he was still victim to nightmares.
Relationships: Peter Quill/Scott Lang
Series: Mama Bear AntLord [30]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1469342
Comments: 2
Kudos: 32





	Claws of Blackened Memories

_When he opened his eyes, it was dark in the room. That wasn't what had him on edge though...something just didn't feel right. He sat up to better assess his surroundings and that was when he felt it._

_The unmistakable weight of a shock collar._

_He panicked. Even though he knew it was pointless to struggle and try to get it off, he still tried. He yelped when he received a shock for his troubles and then flinched away when hands started sliding up his body. They weren't the warm, strong hands he was accustomed to...no...he knew these hands and it terrified him. They were smaller, cold...and when he looked up, he found himself looking into dark, manic-filled eyes. He tried to scream at her or get away, but to his horror he couldn't speak or move._

_Had his rescue been a dream? How long had he been in her clutches? Was his mind so broken that it tried to soothe him with images of his family in a desperate attempt to hold on to the last sliver of sanity he had? If so, he couldn't decide if it was cruel to do that and then bring him back to this nightmare, or if it was crueler to not give him any kind of serenity in the first place._

_He supposed his mind was doing him a favor. But how long had it been now? Another few weeks? Months? Had they given up looking for him? Had they looked at all?_

_Had Quill given up?_

_"Isn't this easier? I can make you feel so good." Her voice made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up and he finally managed to move enough to kick her away.  
"Get off of me!" He yells._

_Bad idea. The mania in her dark eyes intensified and she pulled out the remote to his shock collar and flipped the switch and the pain that followed was excruciating. His skin was already tarnished and burned and the strong currents she sent through him was making his neck flare up with a vengeance. He screamed from the pain and mentally begged for release. For oblivion._

_He wanted to die._

_As if the electrocution wasn't enough, he was being yelled at. She was screaming his name and then...it started to sound warped. Started to sound male._

_"Scott!"_

He startles out of his dream with another scream and shaking violently and he jumps away when he sees her standing over his bed. 

"Get away from me!" He yells and starts grasping at his throat to try and get the collar off again.  
"Grab his hands. He's hurting himself." A voice cuts through his panic and his eyes widen when his wrists are grabbed and pulled away from his neck.  
"Nonono! Take it off!" He sobs out.

He could hear someone talking to him but he was too worried about the pain. He just wanted it to stop, but whenever he struggled to free himself, it was all for naught. When some light finally fills the room, he looks around the room with his heart still pounding and finds that the one holding his hands is _Bruce_. Stephen was next to him and looking back at him after turning on the bedside lamp and then frowned.

"Scott." The sorcerer repeats gently. "You're home. You're safe."

Scott continues to tremble as he takes in his new environment. They were still in their pajamas and it was still dark out, but he was home in his own bed. The dream...the _nightmare_...was so real--

"I am?" He finally whispers and relief courses through him when Bruce finally releases his wrists.

He held them close to his chest and pulled his knees to his chest in an attempt to make himself smaller. He saw Emir pacing by the bed, agitated from not being able to see whatever was scaring his human, and by his door he saw Cassie. The poor girl looked hurt and was on the verge of tears and that's when Scott realized the woman that was standing over his bed was actually his daughter.

He had yelled at her.

"Scott...how long has this been going on?" Stephen asks, pulling the thief's attention back to him.  
Scott flinches away minutely when Bruce leans closer to inspect his neck. "...since the first day Quill was gone overnight after I came home." He admits with a whisper.  
"Two _years_?!"

Stephen and Bruce look at each other and then Bruce opens the first aid kit that Stephen gives him. Scott flinches violently when the alcohol wipe touches his neck, but after being told that he had scratched himself quite a bit and that it was necessary, he endured it. It burned like hell and he wanted to cry again but he didn't want to worry Cassie anymore.

"Does the dream reoccur every time you go to sleep?"  
Scott swallows and winces from the pain. "Just when Quill is gone."

Stephen nods and mutters something to Bruce who nods and gets up with the first aid kit and leaves the room. The sorcerer then gently takes Scott's arm and pulls him off the bed and leads him out. Emir follows diligently as Scott is led up to the penthouse (after Stephen tells Cassie to go back to bed), and the thief hesitantly climbs into bed when they get to the master bedroom. Stephen had to do a bit of climbing to get in the middle of him and Tony, and then it turned into a tight fit when Emir insisted on sleeping next to Scott. Athena grunted a little grumpily but laid her head back down once everyone was settled and Scott curled close to the tiger.

He miraculously slept peacefully for the rest of the night. 

When he woke up the next morning, he and Emir had the bed to themselves and the bedroom was void of the couple that slept in it as well as the babies and the wolf. Scott got out of bed tiredly and when he opened the door, he was met with quiet conversation between Tony, Stephen, and even Sam.

"PTSD." Sam says softly. "I honestly thought he was just used to Quill sleeping with him when I saw how tired he got whenever he was gone...I never thought to check."  
"None of us did." Stephen sighs. "He didn't think to tell any of us either. We all have our nightmares, but this is extreme."  
"Can you talk to him Sam?" Tony asks.  
"Maybe as an on-site counselor, but I think he should see a psychiatrist. Does Quill know?"  
Tony sighs. "If Quill knew I'm pretty sure he would never leave."  
"I'm not crazy." Scott mumbles.

The other three look up at him and watch as he descends the stairs with Emir.

"No one said you were." Sam says. "You went through a traumatic experience. You were taken and held against your will for weeks and on top of that, you were tortured."  
"You were also very sick when we finally found you." Stephen adds.  
"How did you even know I was having a nightmare?" Scott asks quietly.  
"Victor woke me up." Stephen says. "Then you were...shouting so loudly that when Bruce and I came to check on you, you woke Cassie when we opened your door."

Scott sighs and sits on the couch, making sure that Emir doesn't bother the sleeping baby in the swing. Most of the kids were at school, and Valerie was coloring at the coffee table quietly with her usual cartoons on. Stephen sat next to Scott and gave him a look once he got his attention again.

"We had Friday send a message to Quill. He's on his way home."  
Scott frowns. "Why?! He has responsibilities--"  
"The Guardians can take care of it. Right now, he needs to come home and be with you. Your nightmares are so bad that you're hurting yourself because they linger when you wake up."

Scott couldn't argue with that. Last night wasn't the first time he had clawed at his neck in an attempt to remove a non-existent collar. There was even one night he was trying to escape from Kate in his dreams that he fell out of bed and woke once he hit the floor. Even though he had these nightmares every night (or every time he closed his eyes) when Quill was at the station or out in space, Scott knew he still needed to sleep.

Scott stayed up in the penthouse until Quill returned the next afternoon. While having someone nearby helped, he still woke up in a sweat and it took getting some light in the room to chase away the remains of his nightmare for him to go back to sleep. The second the celestial got home, Tony, Stephen, and Sam sat him and Scott down and told Quill why they asked him to come home early. 

He was glowing by the time he was caught up.

"Can Diana take me back? I'm going to kill that bitch again!" He growls and Scott looks at him in surprise.  
"Again?"  
Tony winces. "I'll spare you the details...but she's not going to take you again. Did no one tell you?"  
Scott shakes his head. "No...I didn't know."  
"That alone might help, but you should still see someone." Sam says.  
Quill's light ebbs away and he looks at Scott. "I'll keep my outings to the station. I won't go back up until you show some improvement.  
"What about the Guardians?" Scott sighs.  
"They'll be fine. You're more important right now."

After Tony told them he would find a psychiatrist for Scott, Quill took Scott and Emir back down to their floor and to their room. Both Emir and Flynn were happy to join them in bed and the second Scott's head hit the pillow, he went out like a light. With Quill there, he slept all the way until the next morning without a single nightmare, and when he woke, he was still curled against the god. Quill hadn't left even though he had clearly been awake for at least a couple of hours. He just readjusted himself so he was on his back, but kept Scott tucked into his side when he turned on the TV. It was something he usually did when they were having a lazy day. Today was going to be a lazy day of comfort.

"Feeling better?" Quill asks softly when Scott stirs and lays his head on the celestial's chest.  
"A little." Scott answers honestly. "The nightmares...they always feel so real. I can feel the pain so vividly...her touching me…"  
Quill frowns. "Scott...she can't hurt you anymore. I personally made sure of that."

Scott could only nod. It did help a little knowing Kate was dead, but he still avoided dark-haired women whenever he went out alone. He didn't even know he was doing it until Cassie pointed it out when the two of them were out grocery shopping one day. It was instinctive. When he tried to go down an aisle a brunette woman was in, he froze up and a wave of panic overcame him and he had to turn around and avoid the aisle until she left it.

"Could you…?" Scott whispers and motions to his neck.  
"Yeah."

Quill wills light into the hand of the arm he had around Scott and gently places it on the younger's neck. Once Scott feels Quill's powers soothing the pain and mending the damage he had dealt to himself a couple of nights ago, he relaxed against his husband and turned his attention to the tv. 

He really hoped therapy would at least help with the nightmares.


End file.
